Lembeh Photos

Thanks everyone for the feedback.

If I had only three recommendations for underwater photographers going to Lembeh, I would say:

1. Be prepared to ask for help photographing certain animals. Many animals require two people to photograph (Pygmies, squat lobster, crinoid shrimp, etc.). If you don't ask, the guide don't know what you want.

2. Inform the guides of anything unique you want to photograph. I had to ask for squat lobster, coleman shrimp, stargazers, etc.

3. Stay with the guides or you will sacrifice great photo opportunities.

As soon as I edit my keepers I'll post them on a website for you all to see. I think I have about 20 keepers a day average, so about 300. Of that I'll probably weed out 3/4 and post about 75, those being my best.

Until next time.

Joe

Excellent stuff, Joe. Your photos are great, but your report detail is also invaluable to me as I head there in a few weeks. Too bad about the pressure on the mandarin dive. Is there really only one mandarin dive in the area (at Lembeh Resort house reef)? Thanks for all the info, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of your shots.

Great shots Joe...

Yes, there is currently only one mandrin dive available. The "say" there are mandrin fish off of the house reef, but I did not personally see any. Also, you can only dive the house reef until 5 p.m. and after that you have to pay. They have the diving set up so that squeezing in 5 dives between 8:oo a.m. and 5 p.m. (when the house reef diving is free) is almost impossible, although I did it a few times. Your nitrogen uptake is much riskier, obviously. So to dive the mandrin dive for free, you have to skip the afternoon dive, or pay an additional $30 for the extra 4th dive. They say it's because of the currents, but I tend to lean to the cash flow side of the argument. I managed to spend an extra $30 every day for 15 days , so I had $450 in diving extras by the end of the trip. There are liveaboards and other resorts competing for the mandrins. I got lucky oin the last dive because it was only me and another diver, and the fish were mating like crazy.

Nonetheless, you will have a fantastic time there. In the photo room, try to bring all of your tools, chargers, lenses, ports, CF cards, etc in the room and put them on the lower shelf. If you get a room at the other end of the resort like I did, making changes to your camera and housing is a hassle if you have to walk all the way to the room and back multiple times. It is also essential to bring Asian converters (the two prong kind) because the camera room only has a section of it wioth U.S. plugs, and that area is the first to be gobbled up by photographers. I has my own converters and thus my own little piece of paradise. Also keep in mind that you will be shooting more photographs than normal due to the wild animals and unusual animal behavior you will encounter. Consequently, your batteries get drained faster. I made what is perhaps the best night dive of my life and, go figure, my camera battery died just after I shot my first picture. I tended to juice my batteries every 2-3 dives depending on how many frames I shot.

When you get back from the boat dives be sure to consider a snorkel on the house reef. As I mentioned previously, there are juveniel batfish, but one day we found sargassam frogfish. Here are two shots of them at the surface. The house reef has hidden treasures

Joe

Ha! Just had Larry Smith out here for the last 4 weeks, the godfather of Indonesian diving, and he came up hooting and hollering after several Mandarinfish dives. "Best Mandarin fish dives i have ever done!" He proclaimed on many an occasion. Of course, i am into the beer by that time of day so i didn't go but...they had one encounter last week when 1 male mated with 4 females in succession. (Add dirty comment here...)

Anyhoo, you want a large, well spread out reef (two of them actually) where you don't have to fight others for your own "menage a cinq" of Mandarins? Then you have got to come here.

Sorry if that sounded like a sales pitch....reading this discussion just made me feel sorry for the little Mandarins of Lembeh to be so descended upon by large photographers....

M

When I was in Lembeh last week, I was not quite as impressed with mandarin dive mainly because of the number of people there. There must have been a good 40 odd people in water that day

Although everyone spread out and noone really got into anyone else's way that I could see. The mandarinfish were mating and I saw a few actions but was way too slow with my camera

It would have been great with significantly less people there.

So far however, I would say that the Hills at Puerto Galera, the Philippines had the best mandarin dive that I ever experience just because the seemed to have a lot more mandarinfish spread out over a bigger area (when I was there last year) and they weren't quite as skitish (although there were only about 10 divers rather than a busload of divers like this time). Hmmm, Yap, can I see mandarin fish try to mate with manta?

Anything is possible with Digital...

The sargassum frog is very cool; I'd love to see one. I'll have to look for them. Have heard there are blue rings on the house reef too.

Any boxer crabs while you were in Lembeh?

Sargassum frogfish are common in Texas waters - so come on down Linda...:-)

Cheers

James

So to dive the mandrin dive for free, you have to skip the afternoon dive, or pay an additional $30 for the extra 4th dive.  They say it's because of the currents, but I tend to lean to the cash flow side of the argument.  I managed to spend an extra $30 every day for 15 days , so I had $450 in diving extras by the end of the trip. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah the mandarin dive in Lembeh is potluck now.Esp since the guides allow people to dig through the rubble to get the shots. Yes I have seen it on video even. It is a pity about the liveaboards but I suppose that's the nature of the beast. Good thing there are places that beat lembeh now.

The issue of charging extra for dives is actually the problem of the dive travel agent. They are not inclined to tell you about the dive schedule and that you pay extra etc because they make very little off charging you for the dives. But they still make something vs you paying extra at the resort. So I never understand why all these dive travel services never explain to customers about how things work.

Good thing there are places that beat lembeh now.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Just wondering what those places may be ????

Hi Guys,

I split off the crowding discussion into The Galley to keep things on topic.

Cheers

James

Sargassum frogfish are common in Texas waters - so come on down Linda...:-)

 

Cheers

James

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I had no idea they were common there. Do you snorkel to see them? I might have to make a trip; they are beautiful froggie!

You mean I coulda saved 6k and came there for a few pennies and shot froggies? And drink beer and have texas steak? Man I need to rethink my vacations

Joe